It is known to use an apron assembly to control the size of the opening between the apron and rotary of a crusher and thereby control the size of the crushed material passing through the crusher. Conventional apron assemblies and methods, however, suffer from one or more disadvantages. For example, some conventional apron assemblies and methods use a manual bolt and shim combination. These conventional assemblies are labor-intensive and time-consuming. Other conventional apron assemblies and methods apply undesirably excessive forces to components of the apron assembly including the actuators. This is particularly so when uncrushable material enters a crusher and a “tramp iron” event takes place. As a result, conventional assemblies are expensive to maintain and repair and result in an undesirable amount of down-time or crusher inoperability. In addition, the components of conventional assemblies, including the actuators, have undesirably short lifespans.
It would be desirable, therefore, if an apparatus and method for an apron assembly could be provided that would not be labor-intensive or time-consuming. It would also be desirable if such an apparatus and method for an apron assembly could be provided that would be inexpensive to maintain and repair and not result in undesirable down-time or crusher inoperability. It would also be desirable if such an apparatus and method for an apron assembly could be provided that would increase the lifespan of the components of the assembly.